Running backs being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft used to be a given. That changed last year. For the first time since 1964, no running back was taken in the first round of the 2013 draft. The same is expected in May. Here’s a look at how many RBs have been selected in the first round over the last 10 years:

Gerhart got the most guaranteed money of the bunch ($4.5 million), signing a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Jaguars.

Two kickers and four punters received a bigger guarantee than that in deals reached since 2011.

Left guard Zane Beadles was the top free-agent acquisition for the Jaguars. He received a contract that included $12.5 million in guaranteed money. That’s more than the guaranteed money for Gerhart, Brown, Jones-Drew and Moreno combined ($10.2 million).

Former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson has been on the market for a week since his release and is unlikely to see a deal that would change the narrative. He’s 28 and has posted over 1,000 rushing yards in each of his six seasons in the league, but was met with tepid interest when he was released.

Elite backs remain in the NFL, but seem to be shrinking. Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy and Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles might be the only backs in the league capable of landing a huge contract if they hit the open market.

“It’s how it is now unfortunately,” Peterson said. “There are a couple guys that are different from that. I feel like I’m one of them. The guys in free agency this year really didn’t have incredible numbers to be able to get the type of money they wanted. There are a few of us keeping it alive, keeping the running back position at a top level.”

The emphasis for any NFL team has evolved into the quest to get elite play at quarterback, offensive tackle, receiver, defensive end and cornerback.

“I think that obviously you need a quarterback,” Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. “I think offensive line as a group is very critical, then a couple of rushers, if you can get guys that can rush. Then corners. If you break it down, those four things I think year in and year out, those areas right there give you a chance to get better faster.”

Bradley also isn’t ready to pronounce the running back position as one that is losing value.

“No one is going to shy away from a guy that can average over four yards or five yards a carry,” Bradley said. “If you get that guy that’s a difference maker, it can change your offense.”

The NFL’s litmus test for whether the running game fades or remains could be the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts traded away a first-round pick to Cleveland early last season for running back Trent Richardson. The Browns have gotten the better end of the deal so far even without having selected a player with the 26th overall choice.

Richardson was awful for the Colts, gaining 2.9 yards per carry on average in 14 games. He ran for 458 yards. However, Colts coach Chuck Pagano believes that Richardson will be much more productive this season with a full offseason in Indianapolis.

Regardless, Pagano says even with emerging star Andrew Luck at quarterback, Indianapolis will remain a team that commits to the run.

“That will never change,” Pagano said. “You’re going to hear that until they run me out of there. From a mind-set standpoint, it all starts with running the ball and stopping the run. You want to be a physical football team on both sides of the football and on special teams. I don’t think dropping back and throwing it every time will develop that mind-set.”

Richardson is the only back to be selected in the top five of the draft in the last five years. In the 2004-08 drafts, five backs were picked in the top five.

Cleveland took Richardson third overall, believing he could be a three-down back. That’s the key.

NFL offensive coordinators want a back that can handle all three downs (running, catching and pass protection) and those players appear to be shrinking. Fewer colleges demand that of their backs with specialization becoming more prevalent in the spread.

“I don’t think they’re any less important,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think the importance of a running back who can play three downs as opposed to first and second down is a huge factor in how I view the value of each player. You want guys who can do everything. It makes you more flexible as a playcaller, it makes your offense better. It makes your quarterback better. The easiest completions for a quarterback are the ones right in front of him.”

The second sentence was correct. The NFL creating a pass friendly rule book is the reason for the runningback to be less important. Not being able to touch a receiver or a QB is THE REASON!!!!! We all like points, but come on, we all like slobber knocking defense too.

The article was spot on.The running back position has been devalued.Why draft a RB high when they are plentiful in later rounds?

Remember when the Carolina Panthers gave big contracts to DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart a couple years ago?Their production is pathetic and the Panthers organization laments having so much money tied into 2 rbs.

Value is a relative term. If you are relating salary and what the NFL pays the two, that is a different issue. A running back is more valuable, or a better asset, to a team than a kicker. A three down back is way more hunted for than a Pro Bowl kicker. While salaries have shunk, the importance has not.

BTW, can we let it go? You know, the MJD "in your face" type stories which seem to me a bit vindictive. say he's old and not worth kicker money. Show his old Jaguar photos. You really are rubbing it in, even to Jaguar fans.

Toby won't out rush MJD this year and will almost make twice MJD's salary. Watch. Then again, RB's are plentiful and relatively cheap.
They provide blocking more than anything, since the game, Jedd's and MM's, here in Jag land, has been favoring the pass ever since MJD won the rushing title.